Socrates Among The Corybantes

Author : Carl Avren Levenson
Publisher : Unknown
Page : 202 pages
File Size : 44,5 Mb
Release : 1999
Category : Philosophy
ISBN : UOM:39015047541845

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Socrates Among the Corybantes by Carl Avren Levenson Pdf

In the dialogues of Plato, we find many references to the Corybantic rites. These were rites of initiation performed in honor of the goddess Rhea. However, as Carl Levenson argues in Socrates Among the Corybantes, Plato's dialogue entitled the Euthydemus contains more than a mere reference to the rites. Within the context of the Socratic dialogue itself, an actual performance of the rite (although veiled and distorted) takes place. If Levenson is correct in his thesis about the Euthydemus, then this dialogue is a valuable source for the history of religions since Corybantic rites were meant to be secret. Moreover, as these rites are Dionysiac, Plato is giving us a glimpse of the reality of Dionysiac ecstasy. Such an analysis is far from the usual reading of Euthydemus, which has been interpreted by academics solely as a satire on philosophical debate and has subsequently been consigned to a marginal place in Plato's canon. But here Plato is rejecting his abstract theories on form in favor of intimacy with the world -- of matter rather than of form. Levenson states that complete immersion in the material substrate of the world is what Plato discovered was at the heart of Dionysiac ecstasy -- an ecstasy which, as Plato said, could purify the soul of its ancient guilt.

Author : Carl A Levenson
Publisher : Spring Publications
Page : 176 pages
File Size : 52,8 Mb
Release : 2022-02-23
Category : Electronic
ISBN : 0882149601

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Socrates Among the Corybantes by Carl A Levenson Pdf

In Plato's dialogues, we find many references to Corybantic rites-rites of initiation performed in honor of the goddess Rhea. But in the dialogue titled Euthydemus, there is more than a mere reference to the rites to be found. Within the context of Socratic dialectic, the ancient rites of the Corybantes are acted out-although veiled and distorted. This is what Carl Levenson argues in his book. Since the Corybantic rites are of the Dionysian/Eleusinian type, Plato gives us a glimpse of the reality of Dionysian ecstasy. This interesting knowledge of these rites has usually been lost in the academic assertion that the Euthydemus is just a satire on philosophic arguing, and hence it has been consigned to a marginal place in Plato's canon. But here Plato is rejecting his abstract theories in favor of intimacy with the reality of the world, of matter and being rather than form. Levenson states that complete immersion in the material substrate of the world is what Plato discovers at the heart of Dionysian ecstasy, and the aim of ecstasy. Plato says it is to purify the soul of ancient guilt. With a new Afterword by the author.

Author : Gwenda-lin Grewal
Publisher : Oxford University Press
Page : 298 pages
File Size : 51,9 Mb
Release : 2022-03-10
Category : Philosophy
ISBN : 9780192666246

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Thinking of Death in Plato's Euthydemus by Gwenda-lin Grewal Pdf

Thinking of Death places Plato's Euthydemus among the dialogues that surround the trial and death of Socrates. A premonition of philosophy's fate arrives in the form of Socrates' encounter with the two-headed sophist pair, Euthydemus and Dionysodorus, who appear as if they are the ghost of the Socrates of Aristophanes' Thinkery. The pair vacillate between choral ode and rhapsody, as Plato vacillates between referring to them in the dual and plural number in Greek. Gwenda-lin Grewal's close reading explores how the structure of the dialogue and the pair's back-and-forth arguments bear a striking resemblance to thinking itself: in its immersive remove from reality, thinking simulates death even as it cannot conceive of its possibility. Euthydemus and Dionysodorus take this to an extreme, and so emerge as the philosophical dream and sophistic nightmare of being disembodied from substance. The Euthydemus is haunted by philosophy's tenuous relationship to political life. This is played out in the narration through Crito's implied criticism of Socrates-the phantom image of the Athenian laws-and in the drama itself, which appears to take place in Hades. Thinking of death thus brings with it a lurid parody of the death of thinking: the farce of perfect philosophy that bears the gravity of the city's sophistry. Grewal also provides a new translation of the Euthydemus that pays careful attention to grammatical ambiguities, nuances, and wit in ways that substantially expand the reader's access to the dialogue's mysteries.

Author : Nicholas D. Smith,Paul Woodruff
Publisher : Oxford University Press
Page : 241 pages
File Size : 55,9 Mb
Release : 2000-11-16
Category : Philosophy
ISBN : 9780195350920

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Reason and Religion in Socratic Philosophy by Nicholas D. Smith,Paul Woodruff Pdf

This volume brings together mostly previously unpublished studies by prominent historians, classicists, and philosophers on the roles and effects of religion in Socratic philosophy and on the trial of Socrates. Among the contributors are Thomas C. Brickhouse, Asli Gocer, Richard Kraut, Mark L. McPherran, Robert C. T. Parker, C. D. C. Reeve, Nicholas D. Smith, Gregory Vlastos, Stephen A. White, and Paul B. Woodruff.

Author : Rebecca Lemoine
Publisher : Oxford University Press, USA
Page : 289 pages
File Size : 40,8 Mb
Release : 2020
Category : History
ISBN : 9780190936983

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Plato's Caves by Rebecca Lemoine Pdf

Months before the 2016 United States presidential election, universities across the country began reporting the appearance of white nationalist flyers featuring slogans like "Let's Become Great Again" and "Protect Your Heritage" against the backdrop of white marble statues depicting figures such as Apollo and Hercules. Groups like Identity Evropa (which sponsored the flyers) oppose cultural diversity and quote classical thinkers such as Plato in support of their anti-immigration views. The traditional scholarly narrative of cultural diversity in classical Greek political thought often reinforces the perception of ancient thinkers as xenophobic, and this is particularly the case with interpretations of Plato. While scholars who study Plato reject the wholesale0dismissal of his work, the vast majority tend to admit that his portrayal of foreigners is unsettling. From student protests over the teaching of canonical texts such as Plato's Republic to the use of images of classical Greek statues in white supremacist propaganda, the world of the ancient Greeks is deeply implicated in a heated contemporary debate about identity and diversity. 0In Plato's Caves, Rebecca LeMoine defends the bold thesis that Plato was a friend of cultural diversity, contrary to many contemporary perceptions. LeMoine shows that, across Plato's dialogues, foreigners play a role similar to that of Socrates: liberating citizens from intellectual bondage. Through close readings of four Platonic dialogues-Republic, Menexenus, Laws, and Phaedrus-LeMoine recovers Plato's unique insight into the promise, and risk, of cross-cultural engagement. Like the Socratic "gadfly" who stings the "horse" of Athens into wakefulness, foreigners can provoke citizens to self-reflection by exposing contradictions and confronting them with alternative ways of life.

Author : Owen Grazebrook
Publisher : Routledge
Page : 145 pages
File Size : 45,9 Mb
Release : 2018-09-03
Category : Philosophy
ISBN : 9780429865558

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Socrates Among His Peers by Owen Grazebrook Pdf

In this book, first published in 1927, the author presents us with three conversations, fables, that, beautiful in themselves, also have a direct bearing on what is being discussed: Death and the Hereafter; Justice; and the Kingdom of Heaven.

Author : William H. F. Altman
Publisher : Lexington Books
Page : 661 pages
File Size : 54,5 Mb
Release : 2018-11-29
Category : Philosophy
ISBN : 9781498574624

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Ascent to the Good by William H. F. Altman Pdf

At the crisis of his Republic, Plato asks us to imagine what could possibly motivate a philosopher to return to the Cave voluntarily for the benefit of others and at the expense of her own personal happiness. This book shows how Plato has prepared us, his students, to recognize that the sun-like Idea of the Good is an infinitely greater object of serious philosophical concern than what is merely good for me, and thus why neither Plato nor his Socrates are eudaemonists, as Aristotle unquestionably was. With the transcendent Idea of Beauty having been made manifest through Socrates and Diotima, the dialogues between Symposium and Republic—Lysis, Euthydemus, Laches, Charmides, Gorgias, Theages, Meno, and Cleitophon— prepare the reader to make the final leap into Platonism, a soul-stirring idealism that presupposes the student’s inborn awareness that there is nothing just, noble, or beautiful about maximizing one’s own good. While perfectly capable of making the majority of his readers believe that he endorses the harmless claim that it is advantageous to be just and thus that we will always fare well by doing well, Plato trains his best students to recognize the deliberate fallacies and shortcuts that underwrite these claims, and thus to look beyond their own happiness by the time they reach the Allegory of the Cave, the culmination of a carefully prepared Ascent to the Good.

Author : Georgia Sermamoglou-Soulmaidi
Publisher : Walter de Gruyter GmbH & Co KG
Page : 213 pages
File Size : 50,8 Mb
Release : 2014-08-29
Category : Literary Criticism
ISBN : 9783110365870

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Playful Philosophy and Serious Sophistry by Georgia Sermamoglou-Soulmaidi Pdf

This book provides an interpretation of Plato’s Euthydemus as a unified piece of literature, taking into account both its dramatic and its philosophical aspects. It aims to do justice to a major Platonic work which has so far received comparatively little treatment. Except for the sections of the dialogue in which Socrates presents an argument on the pursuit of eudaimonia, the Euthydemus seems to have been largely ignored. The reason for this is that much of the work’s philosophical import lies hidden underneath a veil of riotous comedy. This book shows how a reading of the dialogue as a whole, rather than a limited focus on the Socratic scenes, sheds light on the work’s central philosophical questions. It argues the Euthydemus points not only to the differences between Socrates and the sophists, but also to actual and alleged similarities between them. The framing scenes comment precisely on this aspect of the internal dialogue, with Crito still lumping together philosophy and eristic shortly before his discussion with Socrates comes to an end. Hence the question that permeates the Euthydemus is raised afresh at the end of the dialogue: what is properly to be termed philosophy?

Author : John Gilbert Cooper
Publisher : Unknown
Page : 192 pages
File Size : 44,9 Mb
Release : 1750
Category : Philosophy, Ancient
ISBN : OXFORD:N11679188

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The Life of Socrates by John Gilbert Cooper Pdf

Author : Joseph P Lawrence
Publisher : Northwestern University Press
Page : 256 pages
File Size : 47,9 Mb
Release : 2015-10-30
Category : Philosophy
ISBN : 9780810131682

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Socrates among Strangers by Joseph P Lawrence Pdf

In Socrates among Strangers, Joseph P. Lawrence reclaims the enigmatic sage from those who have seen him either as a prophet of science, seeking the security of knowledge, or as a wily actor who shed light on the dangerous world of politics while maintaining a prudent distance from it. The Socrates Lawrence seeks is the imprudent one, the man who knew how to die. The institutionalization of philosophy in the modern world has come at the cost of its most vital concern: the achievement of life wisdom. Those who have ceased to grow (those who think they know) close their ears to the wisdom of strangers—and Socrates, who stood face to face with death, is the archetypal stranger. His avowal of ignorance, Lawrence suggests, is more needed than ever in an age defined by technical mastery and expert knowledge.

Author : Stephen R. L. Clark
Publisher : University of Chicago Press
Page : 367 pages
File Size : 42,5 Mb
Release : 2018-02-09
Category : Philosophy
ISBN : 9780226565057

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Plotinus by Stephen R. L. Clark Pdf

"Plotinus, the Roman philosopher (c. 204-270 CE) who is widely regarded as the founder of Neoplatonism, was also the creator of numerous myths, images, and metaphors, which have frequently been dismissed by modern scholars as merely ornamental. In this book, distinguished philosopher Stephen R. L. Clark shows that they form a vital set of spiritual exercises by which individuals can achieve one of Plotinus's most important goals: self-transformation through contemplation. Clark examines a variety of Plotinus's myths and metaphors within the cultural and philosophical context of his time, asking probing questions about their contemplative effects. Through rich images and structures, Clark casts Plotinus as a philosopher deeply concerned with philosophy as a way of life." -- Résumé de l'éditeur.

Author : Armand D’Angour
Publisher : Bloomsbury Publishing
Page : 272 pages
File Size : 42,8 Mb
Release : 2019-03-07
Category : History
ISBN : 9781408883907

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Socrates in Love by Armand D’Angour Pdf

An innovative and insightful exploration of the passionate early life of Socrates and the influences that led him to become the first and greatest of philosophers Socrates: the philosopher whose questioning gave birth to the ideas of Western thought, and whose execution marked the end of the Athenian Golden Age. Yet despite his pre-eminence among the great thinkers of history, little of his life story is known. What we know tends to begin in his middle age and end with his trial and death. Our conception of Socrates has relied upon Plato and Xenophon – men who met him when he was in his fifties and a well-known figure in war-torn Athens. There is mystery at the heart of Socrates' story: what turned the young Socrates into a philosopher? What drove him to pursue with such persistence, at the cost of social acceptance and ultimately of his life, a whole new way of thinking about the meaning of existence? In this revisionist biography, Armand D'Angour draws on neglected sources to explore the passions and motivations of young Socrates, showing how love transformed him into the philosopher he was to become. What emerges is the figure of Socrates as never previously portrayed: a heroic warrior, an athletic wrestler and dancer – and a passionate lover. Socrates in Love sheds new light on the formative journey of the philosopher, finally revealing the identity of the woman who Socrates claimed inspired him to develop ideas that have captivated thinkers for 2,500 years.

Author : Stephen Clark
Publisher : A&C Black
Page : 265 pages
File Size : 46,7 Mb
Release : 2013-01-24
Category : Philosophy
ISBN : 9781441123596

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Ancient Mediterranean Philosophy by Stephen Clark Pdf

A comprehensive and accessible introduction to ancient Mediterranean philosophy, designed specifically for use by undergraduate students.

Author : Xenophon
Publisher : Penguin UK
Page : 384 pages
File Size : 53,8 Mb
Release : 2004-02-05
Category : Literary Collections
ISBN : 9780141915449

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Conversations of Socrates by Xenophon Pdf

After the execution of Socrates in 399 BC, a number of his followers wrote dialogues featuring him as the protagonist and, in so doing, transformed the great philosopher into a legendary figure. Xenophon's portrait is the only one other than Plato's to survive, and while it offers a very personal interpretation of Socratic thought, it also reveals much about the man and his philosophical views. In 'Socrates' Defence' Xenophon defends his mentor against charges of arrogance made at his trial, while the 'Memoirs of Socrates' also starts with an impassioned plea for the rehabilitation of a wronged reputation. Along with 'The Estate-Manager', a practical economic treatise, and 'The Dinner-Party', a sparkling exploration of love, Xenophon's dialogues offer fascinating insights into the Socratic world and into the intellectual atmosphere and daily life of ancient Greece.

Author : Richard E. Bailey Ph. D.
Publisher : AuthorHouse
Page : 349 pages
File Size : 51,8 Mb
Release : 2013-01-22
Category : Self-Help
ISBN : 9781477288511

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Understanding Self and Others in the Postmodern World by Richard E. Bailey Ph. D. Pdf

Understanding Self and Others in the Postmodern World is unlike most books directed at giving people insight into themselves in that it is addressed to those who want to think about their lives, relationships with others, and how Western culture has arrived at the Postmodern World. This book examines seven different worldviews that have become dominant for periods of time in the history of Western culture. The author explains that, although all worldviews share the same structure and characteristics, they vary markedly in their contents. Further, a worldview molds those entering it after its own image. Those readers: (1) who identify their own assumptions about the nature of reality, what it means to be a human being, and the truth, will gain insight into themselves. And, identifying the assumptions held by others on these matters will give the reader insight into them. The problem in the Postmodern World is that we live and work with people who live in these different worlds. That situation has invited disagreement and conflict which, unresolved, has led to the chaos that is characteristic of our time. The solution before the nations of the West is that each citizen must grant to all others the same rights to life, liberty, and the pursuit of happiness he or she claims for him or herself.